


New Horizons

by Spliced_Up_Angel



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Exploration, F/F, F/M, Interspecies Awkwardness, Interspecies Relationship(s), Interspecies Romance, M/M, Mass Effect 3, Multi, Post-Reaper War, Romance, Shakarian - Freeform, the council is full of dicks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-06
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-08-19 12:59:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16535045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spliced_Up_Angel/pseuds/Spliced_Up_Angel
Summary: After the Reaper War, there is a lot to be rebuilt; colonies, galactic relations, populations, etc. While Commander Vakarian gains his own ship and recruits his crew to aid in the reconstruction, mystery lurks. Scientific discovery is not the top priority of the alien races who wish to just repopulate, but a dangerous unorthodox experiment hides in the shadows.





	1. Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> I've been working on this fic for a long time, trying to make sure the lore added up and it flowed well. This chapter is primarily to introduce the post-war universe and some of the main characters. Life on the ship will begin next chapter.

**2191**

“Commander Vakarian.”

“Erika Costa, I take it?” the intimidating turian raised his eyes from his paperwork to eye the tan-skinned human in front of him. Sensing her discomfort, he flared his mandibles in the turian equivalent of a kind smile. 

“Yes, sir,” she quickly replied, possibly too quickly, possibly coming on too strong. She’d possibly curse herself later for that. She really wanted this job. She _needed_ this job. Her current job as a secretary for the Council was dreary and hectic, especially after the five years it took to build a new Citadel on Thessia, a backup colony had already been constructed on the asari planet and luckily somehow survived the planet-wide destruction. Leave it to the asari to make the impossible happen. After the Reaper War, the Citadel had been completely obliterated, along with most of the galaxy’s colonies. Without the help of the Keepers, it was up to manual labour and the help of the geth to rebuild- a long, tedious task.

The job being directly in the presence of Commander Garrus Vakarian -former crewmate and lover of the well loved and well hated Commander Jane Shepard- on his own ship, with the possibility to meet her idol. Commander Shepard- now Captain Shepard had successfully saved the galaxy from the Reapers (a terrifying, inorganic race that she still knew little about), _and_ survived. She’d been in love with the Captain since she defeated Saren.

“And you’re proficient in nine languages, three which are Asari, two which are human…”

“Correct. I was required to learn the most common languages among the main Citadel races in the case translators malfunctioned.” Her face grew hot as she looked away. She automatically brought her fingers up to dwiddle with her shoulder-length dark brown hair. Not one used to sell herself, she mustered up all the confidence within her to press on.

His subharmonics hummed in deep thought. A million and one thoughts ran through her head until he looked up at her. She almost squeaked at the gesture. “So you’re used to working with other races, I assume?”

“Most of my co-workers are Asari, so I would hope so, sir,” she mumbled.

“And you state your organizational skills.”

“Yes, sir. I was in charge of collecting emails, creating appointments for the appropriate representatives, and various other clerical duties,” she nodded.

He turned and typed something quickly on a datapad before returning direct eye-contact. “Your military experience is…low. It looks like you haven’t even spent enough time to serve.”

“No, sir. I am not adequate in fighting, but I did join the military again during the war to provide efforts for refugees. It was horrendous. People died as they were replaced by the dying. My language skills came in quite handy when contacting species of specifically targeted areas like Virmire. Explosions caused a lot of the technology to malfunction, but I shouldn’t be telling you this. You know all of this first hand…” She trailed on. She was talking too much. He nodded in response.

“You will need to take some tests, if I decide you’re right for this position, to ensure you know all the protocols. Granted, you would need this regardless since turian ships are different to those of the human alliance.” She mumbled an “okay” before he continued. “And what sparked your interest in this job?”

“I wanted to be apart of repairing no longer hostable planets and to be completely honest, I am inspired by Commander Shepard, who saved the universe and now needs help putting it back together. I can give you numerous reasons why I admire her, but I don’t want to take up too much of your time.”

“Yes, Shepard is truly an amazing woman,” the turian grinned to himself. “I suspected some of her admirers would be attracted to this position.”

“Please don’t let that cloud your judgement of me, good or bad. I like to think I’m here for the right reason,” she pipped in quickly.  

“Alright, do you have any questions for me?” he quirked a brow plate.

“Um, sir. May I ask a question?”

He nodded in response, waiting for her question. She assumed he was used to a human manner of speaking, being on a human ship for so long.

“Uh, why the personal interview? I was um-uh expecting someone else- not that it’s bad or anything. Its an honour to meet you-”

He put a hand up quickly, sharing his kind smile. “Calm down, Ms. Costa. This is an important position, being my personal assistant. I’d rather know the person who is taking care of my emails than be assigned just anybody by the military.”

“And the fact that I’m human doesn’t bother you?”

She received a knowing look. “I try not to discriminate. We’re looking for someone that’ll boost the team’s morale, the face as soon as you enter the ship, which is why I took interest in you: a face of the citadel council.”

“Just grease me up and put me in a turian swimsuit, sir.” They shared a laugh, she was finally feeling more comfortable. “But seriously, I think you and the Captain are enough to motivate the team!”

“I’m a regular person with a fancy title.”

“You’re so modest, sir. I am not usually this nervous, please disregard my inappropriateness in this interview.”

“Costa, you are fine.” He leaned in closer, causing Erika to begin playing with her hair again. “Between you and me, you are my favourite so far. You’ll be okay.” He moved back with a grin. It took everything out of her to not blurt out about her admiration for his bondmate and why she was the reason Erika couldn’t hold herself.

* * *

 

**2184**

            The human sighed for the umpteenth time that morning as she fiddled with a datapad and tapped her fingers against the desk. It had been a slow morning in the embassy. Her friend and co-worker Amira, a pretty and young asari woman, stood beside her, equally as bored. The asari’s boredom was definitely not helping Erika’s. There was not enough coffee in the galaxy that would perk her up.

“Fuck, marry, kill,” Erika stated.

Amira sighed, “again? I think we ran out of options and are just gonna end up repeating them again…”

“Hmm what about them? I haven’t seen them here before.” Erika pointed to two c-sec officers who stood against the wall, tall and proud, a human and a turian. The human was a fair-skinned man- or boy would better describe him. He looked incredibly new and outside of his comfort zone in comparison to the turian who towered over him. She suspected the human was being trained now that humans were in need at C-Sec after the Citadel was destroyed. His short brown hair lightly tousled as he looked around curiously at the large building. The Embassy was Erika’s place on the Citadel and although it was hit pretty bad, it was also rebuilt really quick. The turian, on the other hand, stood stiff, stoic expression laid on his face but from his green eyes it was evident he was surveying the room carefully. He was a sandy-plated man, long red clan markings ran on his face. Other than that, his features were not that different of any other turian. If it had not been for his clan-markings she would have mistaken him for any other C-Sec officers- not that all turians looked the same, of course, but certainly all C-Sec officers were just C-Sec officers.

“I’d kill them both, to be perfectly honest,” the asari muttered, her boredom was not lifted one bit.

“So we’re going back to FMK ambassadors again?”

“Hey, we have a human ambassador now. We can add him to the mix,” she lightened up.

Erika cringed and whispered. “But Ambassador Anderson is so _old_!”

“You’re saying that to a one hundred and fifty-year old, my friend.”

“In asari years you’re young as hell,” Erika smirked.

Amira sighed once again. “Kill me, please. I just want to go home, get wasted, and watch _Call Me Sally_.”

“Again?” she shared an amused smirk.

“Again,” she affirmed. “I’m so bored!”

The asari’s rant was interrupted by a loud bang. The women watched as an anxious-looking batarian bolted towards the hallway that held the Ambassadors’ offices, knocking people and furniture out of his way. He didn’t get far, however, as the turian officer leaped into action and in a flash had the batarian pressed against the wall, gun to head.

Erika’s jaw most likely hit the ground at some point during that scene. He looked so goddamn cool. She watched as he whispered something that she assumed was equally as badass into the criminal’s ear before grabbing a hold of the batarian’s arms, clenching them behind his back, and firmly pressed the armed hand to the back of the criminal’s head. She was staring at the officer and they locked eyes. He gave her a cocky turian grin and a wink. That bastard. She could feel her face flushing redder than his clan-markings and quickly adverted her eyes. The commotion died down rather quickly, turning the day once again dull. When she had the nerve to lift her head, she was greeted by a large smirk that she could swear almost swallowed up her friend’s face.

“What?”

“You liiiiikeee him,” Amira sang, quiet enough for only the two to hear.

“Your mom likes him!” she snapped back. When the expression didn’t falter, Erika added. “But yeah, that was pretty cool. Back to work-”

Erika went to turn around, but Amira was fast enough to block her exit. “You’re talking to him.”

“Do you wanna kill me? Because if you do shit that’ll make my heart race enough, I’ll die.”

And with that, the subject was dropped and not brought up again for months until the asari could no longer take it.

* * *

 

**2186**

“Erika! That Commander Shepard chick you like is on the TV again!”

“Ouuu I’m coming!” a high voice screeched, followed by the banging and clanging of whatever that crazy human was up to in the kitchen.

Nir slouched on the couch and rolled her eyes. Yeah, Commander Shepard, _Saviour of the Citadel_ , human woman who apparently who saved their asses from the rouge turian Spectre Saren then came back from the dead. Woop-dee-doo. All the krogan knew was that she was forced out of her job because of this nonsense and needed to take refuge on Tuchanka- who in their fucking mind would want to take refuge of Tuchanka?! If anything she took refuge away from Tuchanka and had she had her way, she’d have protected the Citadel herself. She was finally allowed back on the Citadel to stay at her friend’s house because “people who work for the Council have priority”. None of this political garbage would be going on had it not been garnered up by the Council. Put a krogan on there and the problem would’ve been solved the second the cuttlebone stepped out of place. Granted, more casualties may or may not have been an outcome. Those stupid pyjaks on the Council wouldn’t know how to keep their spectres in check if it hit them over the head.

Nir grumbled to herself as her roommate jumped onto the couch in glee, literally shaking in anticipation to see her _hero_ on the TV. Word on the Citadel was that the Commander was seen “bringing morale” to the refugees and her damned roommate wouldn’t stop talking about it. The Commander apparently gave her a handshake while visiting the human settlement and she fucking hoped to the ancestors the human had the right mind to wash it. Erika acted as if it was a surprise Shepard would make an appearance and “help” out the volunteers. She scoffed at the thought. Nir would volunteer her self, but they probably didn’t want krogan there -there weren’t even any krogan refugees! Let the Citadel be the one to remind her that her people weren’t wanted.

Unlike all the other “failed females”, she took it upon herself to actually make something of her life, particularly somewhere _off_ the stupid rock planet. Thank the ancestors she was able to get away from that shitshow. Once Urdnot Wrex took initiative, being in clan Dreadnot was not ideal. The male krogans who ran the society had their heads so far up their asses they couldn’t compute the word “progress”. Why women never tried to take control was no question- it would be useless. Clan Urdnot was only good for sending men to attempt to fertilise the women of Dreadnot and bring stillborn eggs into the world.

Nir, was able to get into University of Serrice, a well renowned asari university, for reasons she could only think would be the result of a diversity quota. It was the same year they opened the school to non-council race students, opting to accept a krogan, two volus, and four humans. That’s how she got to know her best friend Erika. Forced to be roommates and forced to see way more body hair than she would’ve liked to. Being pushed into minority groups, the two found an alien comfort in one another. They avoided each other for the greater part of the first school year until Erika came in crying over a broken heart. They talked it out over alcohol and Nir learned the crazy human liked ryncol! They’ve been what the humans call _besties_ ever since.

Then there was Darren. This damned cuttlebone her roommate had been crushing on for as long as she could remember, dealing with all of Erika’s whining and complaining about not being able to talk to him. She of course, being the best friend she was, stayed as far away from that as possible and let her asari co-workers deal with that shit. Darren was a tall brown-plated turian that had somehow -witchcraft was possibly used- tongue tied her human roommate. His red clan markings were almost as annoying as his stupid green eyes. The way his mandibles flared into a cocky grin was just calling her ancestors to roll in their graves. Thanks to Amira, that damned asari, Erika got talking to him and recently began seeing him after noticing he was also helping refugees. Hey, she wasn’t one to judge, but this was some weird shit. Erika was lucky Nir liked her so much.

Speaking of the cuttlebone, the door buzzed, indicating he was trying to get in. Erika was too fixated on whatever-the-fuck the Commander was going off about now, apparently a speech of some sort, that she didn’t hear the door. Being an awesome fucking friend, Nir pushed herself up off the couch and made her way to the door. She typed in the code and lo and behold, the dumb turian was standing in the doorway with an overnight bag. _Great_. Looks like she’d be needing her noise-cancelling headphones…again.

“Darren,” she eyed him, trying to keep a neutral expression but also trying to tell him with her eyes that he was unwelcome.

“Nir,” he responded in a similar manner before clearing his throat. Nir rolled her eyes and stepped out of his way.

“Shepard’s on the TV,” she deadpanned, sharing a knowing look with the turian. They waited in an uncomfortable silence until Erika was back on the Citadel and not off on whatever world she was on.  

The human cocked her head towards the door and her mouth opened for a quick second before she tried to compose herself into a cool expression. _Smooth as always_. “Hey, you,” she threw on a cocky grin to match his own that was really starting to piss the krogan off.

“Hey,” he responded, walking closer to the couch before Erika got up and directed him towards her room.

Nir huffed a breath as the two headed to her friend’s room. “Keep it down or I’ll snap your bones to get into your squishy insides. I’m still trying to keep the ringing out of my ears from last time! Be lucky you’re fucking my best friend!”

“Charming as ever, Nir!” he sneered cheekily, strolling behind her friend. She really needed a new place.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” she muttered. The krogan plopped back on the couch, slouching while changing the channel. “Son of a varren! Those pyjaks never told me this!” she quickly typed something into her omni-tool and out popped a face of a familiar krogan. Her cousin Kara’s grinning face filled the screen.

“Did you hear?!”

“You didn’t fucking tell me, you pyjak!” she yelled.

“I just learned now, calm down. I swear, you’re secretly a really flamboyant man!” her cousin argued.

“Oh whatever!” Nir exclaimed, her voice becoming more excited. “This is the best news I’ve heard in ever!”

* * *

 

**2191**

The Commander and newly instated Captain stood on the bridge, gazing up at the freshly new ship, constructed similar to their old one, but was considerably nicer than what they had prior to the Reaper war. Alliance colours streaked along the sides, keeping the turian design and human name.

“The Normandy SR3,” Garrus sighed. “Joker would’ve loved this.” He and Shepard shared a somber look. They both knew their friend was hurting and even the upgraded vessel would do little to settle his mood. EDI, his AI girlfriend, had been absolutely wiped out when Shepard destroyed the Reapers. Instead of destroyed by a Reaper beam, the robot was hit with a static boom that stifled all artificial programs, wiping her out and rendering her useless. Her lifeless body lay limp against the controls and it wasn’t until the Normandy SR2 powered down that the human realised EDI was dead. Garrus could remember the pained look that took over the pilot’s face. Chambers threw her arms around him in comfort, but Joker’s consciousness was just as lost as EDI’s. Not long after they docked, Joker was gone. Wiped out of the system with his girl. Nobody heard from him and weren’t even sure if he was still alive.

“Yeah,” Shepard whispered. Garrus knew she missed Joker even more than he missed him. He and Joker had never been close, but Joker and Shepard- the Normandy would never be the same. Her face was hard. The human was always championed as one to successfully hide her emotions, but the turian knew her better, she blamed herself.

He grabbed her hand into his own and squeezed, hoping to provide minimum comfort as she hated being pitied. “Let’s go check out the inside, Shepard. I might have some calibrating to do on the ship’s core before we take her out for a test run.” He plastered a smile on his face when she looked up. Their emotions were both hidden, but they could both read the hurt in each other’s eyes.  

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Nobody’s looking, sweetheart. Let me have this moment. I’ll do as you humans say and keep my ears open.”  
> “Your ears are always open, hon,” Erika quipped cheekily. He was right, though. She had chosen a relatively private area, out of view from the other posts. She needed time to reflect on her day, but Darren’s presence was welcomed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was bloody difficult to figure out how to structure this chapter, so I appologise if it feels all over the place. Next chapter will be in Batarian space, hopefully more organized...

**2191**

Erika stood nervously at the docks of the new ship. _Normandy SR3_. She still couldn’t believe she got the job. She’d already begged on hands and knees for Darren to apply…little did she know he was already recruited. Damned turian told her nothing. Apparently since the Commander was once in C-Sec, he thought it a valuable asset to give some high-ranking officers military experience. Erika could blow raspberries at that. Military experience. Ha. The last fucking thing she would expect Darren to jump at, considering he stayed a civilian on the Citadel to focus on the refugee crisis. He thought it was a nice opportunity- and totally not because he took a peak at her application that was lying carelessly on the floor of her apartment. He thought he was sooo slick, but Erika saw caught him red handed…red plated…?

* * *

“I might be in a little fire-fight here and there…” he said sheepishly.

“Like hell you are!” her words were harsh but her voice was concerned. She’d seen him at work, but he never liked to see that face. He felt her clutch his mandible gently so he faced her. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

He pulled her into a hug, nuzzling his cheek against the top of her head. “Aw, don’t worry, sweetheart. You’ll be there to patch me up right before you beat my ass for being reckless.” Her thoughts were tender and loving, but he hated worrying her. You’d think that someone dating a cop would be used to their lover’s life being on the line, but he knew Erika didn’t think that way. She’d be too afraid to not tell him otherwise. If the possessive grip she held on him before he left every morning said anything, he knew she wasn’t trying to rule his life but was rather nervous for his life.

“You’re the only one I have,” she whispered. “We’ll be on the same ship, but how am I supposed to protect you when you’re in the field?” he almost laughed at the irony because _he_ had always been the one protecting _her_.

He moved to bring their foreheads together. He always found it so adorable when she had to stand on the tips of her toes to reach him. “You’re more important to me than you could ever understand. Like who the fuck let this little human in my life? The flustered, tiny mess that was too afraid to even look me in the eye? Making me consider monogamy? The spirits must’ve thought you were special since I couldn’t stay away.”

“You idiot,” she sniffed. They were really going to do this. They were really going to leave their comfortable life on the Citadel to explore the stars and rebuild planets, possibly risking their lives. It was thrilling, yet terrifying, like the time he got so drunk he ended up bedding an elcor. _With euphoric pleasure: Oh yes, Daddy. I’m your little slut, punish me._ A damn rollercoaster that was. But this rollercoaster…he was ready for. 

* * *

 

She looked to the tall man at her side. She could read turian facial expressions decently, but had trouble figuring out if Darren was as nervous as she was. He seldom showed any vulnerability, which pissed her off. He caught her eyes and looked down sympathetically. He placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. They’d already discussed it before that since they didn’t know what rules were like on the ship that they should take precautions to keep their relationship discreet. This was going to be difficult for Erika. At least Darren flirted with anything with female anatomy, while all she wanted to do was grab onto his hips and feel his talons dig into her back in a hard embrace. She knew “blowing off steam” wasn’t a big deal on turian ships, but knew it was starkly different than intimate relationships. She was pretty sure she’d be fucked by more than what she wanted-his dick- if someone took their relationship as casual. The last thing she needed was her crew thinking she was easy. They hadn’t bonded yet, a possible blessing and curse. It would be impossible to hide it from his family and before her xenophobic mother died on Sanctuary, it was too hectic to even think about something so intimate. All the turians, and possibly krogan, would know who she belonged to and to back off…which would be problematic for either of them if they actually wanted to work in the same place.

The simple gesture was enough to calm her down until it came time to board the ship and wait for the Commander and Captain. Darren had moved down to the engineering bay, the main job he’d have since the Commander was training c-sec officers and FOB turians in fire-fight. He wasn’t technically a soldier, but she knew he’d be on the field often enough for her to worry. If she could lock the engineering floor from using the elevator, she would.

Shortly, a young asari entered the airlock, looking around cautiously. The gleam in her eyes told Erika that the slightest hint of unease would send the asari’s biotics in full force. When the asari’s face met the human’s, her face softened but it was clear her guard was still up. “Serita T’Saros. Co-pilot.” Serita wiped her hand out, not confident to meet the human’s eyes.

“T’Saros?” That sounded familiar. “Are you related to Amira?”

The asari eyed her suspiciously, dropping her hand. “Depends whose asking.”

“Oh, no, no. I work with Amira T’Saros at the embassy! I’m Erika Costa.”

“Costa, huh? Yeah, I think my sister mentioned you once or twice,” she continued standing, as if waiting for Erika to say something else. The silence bore an awkwardness that would kill.

“It’s good to meet you. I’m assuming your sister will want me to look out for you-”

“You will best mind your own business, human,” Serita interrupted. Her soft features made it difficult to take the young one seriously, but she knew it was best to humour her. “You won’t tell my sister about this either. Got it?” Oh, she would tell her sister, alright.

“Sure thing, sweetie,” Erika gave a mocking grin which earned as hiss from the other woman before she stalked off into the cockpit. The human rolled her eyes, smirking to herself. She had a feeling her friend’s bratty sister would be fun to mess around with. 

* * *

 

The human entered the sleeping quarters so she could put away her belongings. While counting the beds for her own, she bumped into a large female turian with white plates, piercing yellow eyes, and elegant blue colony markings. She was absolutely stunning, one of the few with a soft face, uncracked and pure. She was currently reaching towards the top bunk, placing some of her supplies. Erika thanked the gods she chose the top bunk so the tiny human wouldn’t have to improvise in order to get into bed. Ladders just weren’t a thing on turian ships, were they?

“Looks like we’re bunkmates! Erika Costa, and you?” Erika exclaimed holding out her hand. Might as well be on good terms with her bunkmate and not have to deal with her shit getting stolen.

“Oh!” the tall turian looked down at the outstretched hand awkwardly before Erika quickly pulled it back. “I’m Gabriria Maxus.”

Erika set a friendly smile on her face, at first baring her teeth, but quickly reverted to a closed mouth smile when the turian showed hostility.

“I-uh- I’ve never bunked with a human before… your anatomy…is squishy.” Erika almost accused Gabriria of calling her fat before she remembered the etiquette. She probably was squishy in the eyes of her plated colleague. Hell, Darren ruined a night of passionate lovemaking by mentioning her squishiness. He felt bad immediately afterwards, not knowing it was a common insecurity among human women. Gabriria seemed to have good intentions and if anything she may have been ignorant to human customs. She had probably never have spoken to a human before.

“Go down to Earth and see even pudgier ones. They don’t go into space since it’s not wise on their health and would probably kill them. Some people would make an elcor look small!” she giggled, considering putting up an extranet vid of one of those ridiculous _World’s Fattest Person_ tv shows.

“I’m not sure if I believe you or not, to be completely honest,” she responded, releasing some tension while keeping up her guard.

“Fair enough. Haven’t been around other species long?”

“Just came from Palaven, actually. Haven’t talked to any humans outside of the military.”

“Oh, um. I’m sorry. I heard Palaven got hit pretty hard. You didn’t take refuge at the Citadel or another Turian colony?”

“My family has issues with…change. They were in denial of the whole thing,” Gabriria found her feet more interesting at this point, seemed like a tough topic.

She sighed, “we’ve all lost and gained from this war. I can sense you’re a good person and I’m glad you survived.” She offered.  Gods, she was terrible at this.

“Is that…sarcasm?” the human gave her a look of disbelief but wasn't sure she understood the expression yet.

“Spirits…”she sighed, pinching her nose before giving the turian a closed mouthed grin. She was unsure if she would take showing teeth as a sign of hostility again and she’d have to start all over again.

“Now, that’s sarcasm! I’m sorry if I seem over dramatic. It’s kind of out of place for a turian to act like this- I-I should be more respectful, but I’m unsure how to act around other races.”

“Fair enough,” she smirked. “I understand.” She really didn’t understand. Having practically grown up around other species for most of her life had her used to the different Citadel races. If she knew right, light jokes helped any species feel more at home. “Treat it like we’re the same. Hell, I’ll tape mandibles onto my face to make expressions easier.” The two women shared a laugh, “but seriously, don’t worry about it. My first time seeing a krogan was at an asari university. We’ve been best friends for years.”

“A krogan?”

“Yeah, not all them are bad. I was a bit intimidated when I walked into my room and saw a big ass fucking dinosaur from a history museum up and walking like she owned the place. Asari look more human, so you can see my lack of reluctance to apply to an asari university.” Gabriria seemingly cringed at the profanity. She took note and was quickly reminded profanity was frowned up on turian culture.

“And your first turian?”

Her first turian? Her mind flashed to the first time she saw Darren, obviously not the first turian but the first turian she became intimate with. Tall, valiant, beautiful white tribal markings that brightly contrasted his reddish-brown plates, striking green eyes…

Dreamy eyes must have been universal because her thoughts were interrupted by a cleared throat.

“Oh! Uh, yeah. My mom kinda brainwashed me at a young age to think turians were monsters since my dad died during the First Contact War.”

“I thought that was a taboo topic…” Once again, her feet were more interesting.

Erika shrugged. “In honestly, when we moved to the Citadel when I was eight, I saw the security guards and thought they were so cool. I didn’t exactly _know_ what a turian looked like, so I gave my mom quite the fright when she turned around to a giant alien towering over her small daughter, answering whatever questions I came up with. If you think I’m tiny now, imagine me like three inches shorter.”

“Children are more open-minded than adults.”

“Yup.”

“And that’s why you’re not uncomfortable here…I thought it kind of strange. Thought it was a _human thing_.”

She shrugged again. “It’s a _people thing_.” The turian seemed less tense at the comment, understanding that whatever she learned on Palaven about humans probably wasn’t true. They weren’t all curious and unprofessional…just most of them.

“But how were you only eight when you came to the Citadel when it took nineteen years for humans to be accepted as a council race?”

“My dad froze his sperm and my mom had me when she got lonely,” Erika shrugged.

“Oh, I hope you brought her that joy.”

“Well, she would’ve lost her mind when I told her I was coming on this ship, for starters. I wasn’t the easiest kid.”

“Didn’t you say she lived on the Citadel?”

“She managed to find a small group of humans that she associated on her own merit. She was sent for galactic diplomacy, so I’m not sure how _that_ turned out. Let’s just say, I didn’t have many friends over growing up.”

“You’re different from what I learned about humans.”

“Girl, there’s saints and assholes in all species. You’ll learn this quick. What was your impression of your first human?”

The turian’s neck flushed a deep blue. “Squishy. Your fringe confuses me. They’re so flexible and diverse compared to turians.”

“You can cut them and dye them, too.”

“Now you’re just messing with me, human.”

Erika considered pulling out a strand of hair to make her point, but didn’t want to give the poor woman a heart attack. She settled for a grin and let her hair down from her pony tail. She held out a brownish-gray strand. “Here, it’s dyed.” The turian was reluctant to touch it. “It won’t make me horny or anything. I’m not a pervert,” Erika joked. She resisted the urge to fake a moan, fearing the reaction she might receive.

“I’m going to assume that was a joke,” Gabriria uncomfortably retorted. She slowly grabbed onto the lock and ran her fingers through it. “And this doesn’t hurt?”

“Can’t feel a thing, all dead cells.” The turian dropped the locks in surprise.

“Um, humans are…interesting.” 

* * *

 

“Captain Shepard! How does it feel to be back in action?”

“Captain! Is it true that you are officially leaving the Alliance and revoking your humanity?”

“Captain! Are you really going to blow up three innocent volus homeworlds?”

Shepard was becoming increasingly irritated by the paparazzi that seemingly found a way to follow them to the docks. She thought after punching al-Jilani, they would be turned off, but these reporters were persistent. Garrus was the one who should have been in the spotlight. He was a war hero, too, _and_ this was his damned ship. Turians, unfortunately, never took much interest in “celebrity news” so he was in the clear from his own people. But knowing how invasive the media was about their interspecies relationship should’ve peaked his popularity. The graphic porn parody she had the misfortune of coming across was the worst of her PTSD. The redhead squeezed her eyes. Garrus was so much better at dealing with this- not that either of them were what you’d call _diplomatic_ \- at least he had the self control to not biotic punch the fuckers into another galaxy.

She must have been fuming because over the nonsense, she could hear her turian companion’s chuckle being poorly covered by a cough. He was enjoying this. She glared at him as he failed miserably to hide his gleaming grin. Bastard. Shepard pushed through the remaining reporters that blocked the catwalk and climbed into the contamination chamber. Shortly before the door closed, she heard the attention finally being put towards Garrus. He’d deal with it.

* * *

 She came face to face with her idol. Captain Shepard was just as amazing up close. She’d only seen her from afar when she visited the refugee camp, so she never got a really good look at her. The wrinkles on Shepard’s forehead and randomly placed body scars showed the importance of this woman. She stood tall as always, making her presence known to the room, despite being less than head shorter than the turians on board. Her once medium-length red hair was scorched in whatever she did to save the galaxy, but it was beginning to slowly grow back. She’d lost her left arm and right leg during the battle but barred her prosthetics with pride. The aura she gave off was sure to scare off a pack of theresher maws and the way her eyes tore through every pit of flesh she laid eyes on indicated that she meant business. Erika was torn between shitting her pants or licking the former Commander’s shoes. Shepard never spoke once, she just surveyed the room from the front of the ship, eyeing every nook and cranny. Rumour was that she had already died once and was brought back to life. Maybe she was looking for something to prevent her from dying again. Her thoughts were seized when her eyes caught Shepard’s. Erika froze for a second before quickly cocking her head to the terminal, pretending to be doing serious work, despite her flaming red face.

She was so focused on pretending to not have been starring at the Great Shepard that she didn’t even notice that Shepard herself was standing right behind her until she heard the sound of a throat clearing. She nearly jumped and shit herself for real. “Oh-um-uh- hi!” she sputtered, forgetting all other words.

“Hey,” Shepard smiled genuinely at the other human, not making the situation any less uncomfortable. “Just checking out the new crew, seeing how everyone’s settling in…” Did she do this every time she got a new crew? Shepard must have asked her a question because she was currently looking annoyed.

“Um…”

“Your job? Don’t be nervous, I only bite the enemies.”

“Oh! Erika Costa, personal assistant to Commander Vakarian and ambassador for interspecies relations, at your service, ma’am!”

Shepard eyed her slowly before muttering an “I should go” before going off to talk to everyone else. At the loss of the Captain, Erika let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. She was still trying to chalk up what had just happened.  

* * *

 

“How’s it going, sweetheart?” she followed the soft voice to its owner. Darren was looking at her through the window, mandibles pressed tightly to his face. It was as if he could sense her nervousness.

“Did the Captain visit you, too?”

“The Captain? I thought that was an enraged krogan!” he smirked.

“Yet you still insist on riling up Nir.” She giggled.

“You know a woman can’t resist my charm.” A short silence was followed by her being gripped tightly in his arms.

“U-um-”

“Nobody’s looking, sweetheart. Let me have this moment. I’ll do as you humans say and keep my ears open.”

“Your ears are always open, hon,” Erika quipped cheekily. He was right, though. She had chosen a relatively private area, out of view from the other posts. She needed time to reflect on her day, but Darren’s presence was welcomed.

“And you can hush now.” He nuzzled his face into the top of her head and breathed in deeply. She stood up on her tippy-toes to reach up and nuzzle her own face in his caprice. Darren bent down slightly to press his cold forehead against hers affectionately. She closed her eyes, never wanting this to end, but life never threw her a bone. He drew his talons through her hair before stepping back and heading for the elevator. It was as if he wasn’t even there. Erika tried to calm her beating heart as she returned to her post. She lightly patted her probably red face and stretched a bit. She felt refreshed yet flustered. It was Darren’s fault. 

* * *

 

“C-commander! You have new messages at your private terminal!” she announced upon seeing him.

The turian nodded in thanks before shifting to his terminal, speed reading his emails…until he stopped on one. She watched the concentration in his eyes as he read it over and over again. “Opedus, set up a navpoint to Verush! I got an urgent message from a frigate just off the planet,” the Commander declared.

Erika cringed. She was all for diplomacy but a Batarian colony? She knew from her records that the Batarians were trying to reconnect their ties with the rest of the galaxy, but Batarians never were ones to co-operate. They were notorious for their slave trade and despite the small number of survivors, she knew that was one thing they wouldn’t give up. She hated being bigoted, but she couldn’t help it when there were asari and humans on the ship. There had to be a good reason for the government to finally open up, to show itself to the Council and possibly travel away from Batarian space. As hard as it was to admit it, the Council was right to send Commander Vakarian on this mission. All the former Spectres sent a huge “fuck you” to the Council before fucking off elsewhere and a savior of the galaxy was the best bet…she wasn’t diplomatically sure, however.  

“We-we’re going to Batarian space, sir?” Erika weakly questioned. “I-I’m a human. I don’t think it’s the best idea to bring me on their ports.” She squeezed her eyes, not wanting to stare into the Commander’s eyes, which were likely set to kill for questioning his orders. She knew her chances of being forced to take care of species relations was high, just as much as her life expectancy with said relations were slim.

Surprisingly, his voice came out soft. “Don’t worry, Costa. As long as my men are there, you won’t come into any trouble.” There was an air of confidence in his voice that allowed her to take the breath she didn’t know she was holding in.

“And you trust the Batarians, sir?” she asked meekly.

“Not in the slightest.”


End file.
